Safety-gate for bridges.



i G. FAUST. SAFETY GATE POE BRIDGES. APPLIUA'HON FILED JULY 2, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

' C. FAUST.

SAFETY GATE FOR BRIDGES.

APPLIoATIoy FILED JULY a, 1910.

Patented Nov. 1, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

1HE NaRRls Ps1-mu CASPER FAUST, OF OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN.

SAFETY-GATE FOR BRIDGES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 1, 1910.

Application filed July 2, 1910. Serial No. 570,075.

i To all whomiit may concern.'

`of the gates when the same are in their closed position.

Another object is to provide a positive 4weight power in connection with said gates, whereby the same are closed, the weight power through a series of levers being opposed by the swinging bridge in its closing movement, whereby the gates are opened and held open when the bridge is in said closed position.

Vith the above objects in View my invention consists in what is herein shown, described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 represents an inverted plan view of a portion of one end of a swinging bridge and its abutment, having attached thereto safety gate mechanism embodying the features of my invention; Fig. 2, a top plan view of a portion of the abutment illustrating one set of gates in their open position; Fig. 3, a longitudinal sectional view of the apparatus, the section being indicated by line 3--3 of 'Fig 1, and Fig. 4,' a detail cross-section as indicated b v line 1 -4 of Fig. 1, the said cross-section showing one set of gates in their closed position.

Referring by characters to the drawings,

1 represents the end of a swinging bridge and 2 the adjacent abutment, the bridge being shown in its closed position. Secured to the bridge 1 is a roller tappet 3, which tap pet is arranged to engage a cani-rail 4, the outer ends of which rail are in slotted connection with studs 5 carried by the abutment.

.The cam-rail I is formed in two sections,

which sections are centrally connected by a hinge 6, the pintle of which hinge also extends through the head of a plunger-bar 7. The said plunger-bar, in turn, is reciprocatively mounted in bearings 8 and 9 that depend from the abutment, the bearing 8, in

anti-friction rollers, whereby side thrust upon the plunger-bar is resisted. Adjacent to the rear end of said plunger-bar and projecting therefrom is a pin 10, which pin engages the slotted ends of oppositely disposed levers 11, the levers being fulcrumed upon studs 12 that are secured to the under side of abutment timbers. The outer arms of the levers 11 carry pins 13 that engage slotted ends of cranks 14, which cranks are secured to the lower ends of rock-shafts 15, the rockshafts being journaled in and extending through the abutmentwith their upper ends journaled in brackets 1G, which brackets are supported at the intersection of the road and walkway of said abutment.

The upper portions of the rock-shafts 15 have secured thereto roadway gates 17, there being housings formed in the foot portion of each bracket| 1G, that serve as casings for toothed geai.'wlieels 1S, which gear-wheels are also secured to the rock-shafts. Journaled in each bracket 11' are shafts 1S), which shafts carry sidewalk gates 20, the lower ends of said shafts being also provided with gear-wheels 21 that mesh with the gea r-wheels 18. By this gear connection between the pair of gates, it will be seen that they can be folded in opposite directions when the bridge is open, the direction of the folding movement being in the same direction as the travel of pedestrians and vehicles. Thus, when the gates are so folded, injury to persons is rendered less liable, due to the fact that they would not be pushed backward if crowded against said gates when they were swinging from their closed position, the said closed position being indicated in dotted lines of Fig. 2 and in full lilies in Fig. 4 of the drawings.

Secured to the outer end of each lever 11 is a cable 22, the cable being guided around a sheave 23 that is secured beneath the abutment in a. suitable bracket. From this sheave the cable extends upwardly through an aperture in said abutment and over a second sheave 24 that is suspended from the overhead trusswork 25 of the bridge abutment, as best shown in Fig. 3. The vertical stretch of the cable 22 is preferably passed through a protecting tube 26 that is secured in any suitable manner to the upper face of the abutment, the end of said cable being connected to a weight 27, which weight, in this instance, is shown as being this instance, being shown provided with i provided with apertures, through one of which tube 26 eXtends, while the opposite aperture is adapted to receive a vertical member 28 of the overhead truss. Thus said weight is guided. lhile I have shown said weight as being exposed, it is apparent that the same, in practice, may be incased in a suitable housing.

As shown in the drawings, when the bridge is in its closed position, the plunger and its connected cam-rail are forced inwardly by the tappet 3, in which position the outer ends of levers 1l are thereby forced toward the center of the bridge. Their pins 13, through their crank connections with the roadway gates, will thus cause said gates to be folded back in the position as indicated in Fig. l, and when this folding movement is imparted to said gates, the sidewalk gates 2O are also folded back, as shown, through their gear connection. Power applied from the tappet carried by the bridge to the plunger-rod in performing its closing operation, is in opposition to the weights 27, which, as previously stated, are in cable connection with the ends of levers 11 and thus when the bridge is closed, movement of the levers will cause the weights to rise to the position shown in Fig, 3, the gates and connected mechanism all being held by the tappet in this position in opposition to said weights.

Vhen the bridge is swung open and the tappet reaches the position as indicated by the line X in Fig. l, the weights 27 will be free to act and in descending will cause the levers to assume the positionvas indicated in dotted lines of Fig. l, in which position the gates extend across the roadway and sidewalk as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2. Said gates are securely locked in this closed position, due to the angular position of the slotted ends of the cranks 14 with relation to an imaginary line intersecting the axes of the levers and said cranks. This angle is such that if power should be applied to the gate to open the same in opposition to the weight power, the slotted end of the crank would have a more or less direct thrust upon the pin 18 of its connected lever 1l and this thrust would come upon the fulcrum of said lever and thereby have no tendency to move the same, but would thus form an automatic lock for the gates in their closed position.

Heretofore safety gates of this character, which have been operated to close by weight power or other motive force, have employed various mechanical devices for locking the same to prevent premature opening, which l. In a horizontally swinging bridge gate having a tappet disposed adjacent to its end, and an abutment with which .the bridge is adapted to register; the combination of a reciprocative plunger, a lever fulcrumed to the bridge abutment having an arm connected to the plunger, a rock-shaft journaled in the abutment and extending upwardly therethrough, a gate secured to the upper eXtension of the rock-shaft, a crank secured to the lower end of said rock-shaft, the crank and other arm of the lever being in pin and slot connection with each other, and a weight connected to the lever and crank connection of said rock-shaft, whereby the said rockshaft is operated in one direction.

2. In a horizontally swinging bridge gate having a tappet disposed adjacent to its end, and an abutment with which the bridge is adapted to register; the combination of a reciprocative plunger, a cam-rail carried by the plunger for engagement with the tappet,

a lever fulcrumed to the bridge abutmentV having one arm in connection with said plunger, a rock-shaft journaled in the abutment and extending upwardly therethrough, a gate secured to the upper extension of the rock-shaft, another shaft in gear connection with the rock-shaft, a gate carried by the other shaft, a crank secured to the lower end of said rock-shaft, the crank and other arm of the leverbeing in pin and slot connection with each other, and an operating weight in connection with the gate mechanism, whereby the saine is moved in one direction.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand at Milwaukee in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin in the presence of two witnesses.

CASPER FAUST.

Witnesses:

GEO. W. YOUNG, MAY DowNnY. 

